Holes in My Soles

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Saturday, August 1, 2015

We can feel the heartache
we can feel the lion's pain
we know there's a hunter hanging round
He wants Cecil
to take his mane
can't let that lion get away again
hunter needs a trophy hanging round

But hunters come
Hunters go
Conservation's their thing you know...
Why aren't lots of wildlife hanging round?
Firing their rifle
Shooting their bow
Taking their trophy any way they know
There ain't too much wildlife hanging round.

The camera man
He just sees
Just wants to take a picture away from there
He don't need no trophies hanging round
But a hunter has another need
a different song to a deeper greed
just to have their trophy hanging round

So hunters come
Hunters go
something they don't you to want to know
There ain't too much wildlife hanging round
But since they've come to take a life
words aren't enough
it just ain't right
we won't see our Cecil hanging round.
And we know why no wildlife's hanging round.

Friday, July 31, 2015

An ageing soldier crying softly, beside a body on the groundSheds a tear for his young slain friendHe never thought this would come down.He'd thrown away all his bush gear, camo paint and forage capSpent his life forgetting firefights in dark shadowsWithout a thought that he'd go back.Life has dreams from hard foundations, memories with no shed tearsStruck with the heart ache of our creationsIn the invulnerability of our young yearsFrom the vat of our maturation brews a spirit of adventureThat spills towards our next generationWhom we protect beyond our fears.

The young soldier survived the bush war, threw his life into his dreamsPlayed a part in the creationOf an Eden ... or so it seems.Raised a calf from its lost mum, fed it every day by handGrew to love his lost young orphanSanctuary for all became the plan.It is such a sweet temptation for us to simply turn awayTo ignore the wildlife decimationThat supplies the Asian trade.The ineptitude of our nations, the impotence of governmentsSends a message to all caring peopleTo care a damn is a piece of shit.Aching heart beside his slain friend, new resolve and a pledge is madeTo seek the killers of his now lost brotherThe one he'd raised in his sanctuaryBut old soldiers know the danger, the blood and all the fearsNever rush to don the camo Never want to wear the gear.Now there's a deeper call of duty, calling way beyond his fears.He heads along the faint new pathwayTracking two legged predatorsSeeks his quarry in long shadows, where deadly ambushes are laidAmongst flashing memories of firefightsA last patrol for his young compadre.Life has dreams from hard foundations, memories of old despairsStruck with the heart ache of our creationsAmidst the anger and the tearsA deadly shot strikes its target: he never wanted to kill againBut he'll protect his new generationBeyond the sum of all his fears."Slaap sag, rustig ou grote. Slaap sag.""Rest in peace, old friend. Rest in peace."

Members of the Pilanesberg National Park Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) stand guard as conservationists and police investigate the scene of a rhino poaching incident April 19, 2012. — Reuters pic

The Rhino poaching war escalates. 668 rhino were slaughtered in 2012 in South Africa. This year is off to an equally depressing start: 393 as at end of April! At this rate, 2015 may see over 1500 killed, and that figure is just for South Africa.
This is extermination of a species.

Many reserve owners, who in their youth may have been involved in the wars for independence in Southern Africa, are now - in what should be today's peace - having to take up arms and fight a new battle, this time with the survival of rhino at stake.

Dreams to create wildlife sanctuaries on their land are being crushed. Lives are being lost. Rhino being driven to extinction to supply Asian demand for rhino horn.

This video was created to help promote preserving our wildlife in the wild, but, sadly, many big cats are kept as exotic pets. Big Cat Rescue offers rescued lions, tigers, leopard, etc, a home on 55 acres at their Tampa sanctuary. Donations are welcome.

The Elephant Man's our captain and we know it'll be all right
when we raise our rusty anchor and set sail with the dawn.
We'll seek Portuguese mansions and old slave traders' forts
that still echo desperate cries of the stolen forlorn.

Our old dhow is defiant and ploughs a southern bearing
the sails they are patched and well-worn at the seams.
Its planking pit-sawn from an old tree we borrowed
and it's caulked with the remnants of old sailors' dreams.

We're not looking for medals of great honour
don't want deliverance to God's heavenly gates.
All we want is the whale song around us
and to carry their message before it's too late.

There are no expectations in this battered old suitcase
that has carried my weapons of struggle to the frays.
And we're sailing wild waters on ancient mariners' bearings
where sharks are our companions and fear is no disgrace.

There's a blonde Amazon goddess who leads me on with kindness
our companions are dolphins swimming Eden's coral reef.
But the concussions are deafening, and there's blood in the water
and they carve up our companions as we drown in our grief.

We're not looking for medals of great honour

don't want deliverance to God's heavenly gates
All we want is to stand in defiance
and expose the destruction before it's too late.

And this message we carry is now in life's little bottles
that we cast upon the internet to float through time and space.

And all friends and true believers 'like' and 'share' each posted message
and our songs bring us together to watch over this watery place.

We're not looking for medals of great honour
don't want deliverance to God's heavenly gates.
All we want is the whale song around us
and to carry their message before it's too late.

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About Me

A custom shoemaker, slowly wearing out his tools. No sign of slowing down for this not so young traveller, but sometimes I just have to take time out to repair my worn out soles. They've been around, and it's time to talk of where they've been. Join us in our journeys, we'll learn more about wildlife conservation and social issues around this world, and maybe delve beyond the conscious